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U.S. ambassador to Libya, 3 other Americans killed in consulate attack

September 12, 2012 | 4:56
am

CAIRO
-- The U.S. ambassador to Libya, Christopher Stevens, and three other Americans
were reported killed as a mob sacked the U.S. Consulate in
eastern Libya in a rage over an anti-Muslim video produced in the United States,
according the State Department.

Early Wednesday
morning, President Obama released a statement: "I strongly
condemn the outrageous attack on our diplomatic facility in Benghazi, which
took the lives of four Americans, including Ambassador Chris Stevens. Right
now, the American people have the families of those we lost in our thoughts and
prayers. They exemplified America's commitment to freedom, justice, and
partnership with nations and people around the globe, and stand in stark
contrast to those who callously took their lives."

Obama
concluded his statement saying, "The brave Americans we lost
represent the extraordinary service and sacrifices that our civilians make
every day around the globe. As we stand united with their families, let us now
redouble our own efforts to carry their work forward."

Wanis al-Sharif, Libya's deputy minister of the interior, told the Associated Press that Stevens
and three others had died as the crowd torched the consulate in Benghazi hours
after demonstrators scaled the wall of the U.S. Embassy in Cairo in
protest over the anti-Muslim video. A Twitter message from Libya's deputy
prime minister, Mustafa Abu Shagur, condemned the death of Stevens and the other American personnel killed in the attack.

The protesters in Benghazi set fire to
the consulate and fired guns into the air in protest over the film, according to
Reuters reporters on the scene. Looters reportedly grabbed
desks, chairs and even washing machines from the empty compound.

Egyptian
protesters had
earlier gathered at the
U.S. Embassy in Cairo in protest over a video that they said mocked the
prophet Muhammad, claiming it had been made by Egyptian Coptic immigrants in
the U.S.

The Cairo protesters pulled down the U.S.
flag, and in its place raised a black flag that read: "There is no God
but Allah and Muhammad is his prophet" before Egyptian security forces
sought to tame the crowd.

As night fell, protesters continued to gather
outside the embassy in one of the biggest demonstrations in the city since the fall
of Hosni
Mubarak's government early last year. Security forces
surrounded the embassy compound to prevent protesters from again storming it, though
some demonstrators remained on the wall, waving black flags.

As many as 2,000 demonstrators rallied outside the
embassy in a gathering called by the conservative Islamic Salafist movement.

Before the rally, the private Al Nas television
channel, run by Salafists, played some of the video posted on YouTube, which a host and a commentator said insulted Islam. The video
shown on the channel refers to Muhammad and his followers as "child
lovers." It also shows the prophet speaking to a supposed Muslim donkey,
asking him whether he loves women.

The channel's enraged host and a commentator then
demanded to know how Islam could be treated in such a debasing way.

The video has been promoted online by Florida
preacher Terry Jones, whose 2011 burning of a Koran triggered riots in
Afghanistan. In a statement, Jones called the assault on the embassy in Egypt
proof that Muslims "have no tolerance for anything outside of Muhammad."

Nader Bakar, a spokesman of the Al Nour party, the
political arm of the Salafist movement, denied any involvement in the uproar.

"We were there for a couple of hours in a
peaceful protest," said Bakar, who had called for the demonstration the
day before. "We are against this movie being made to defame the prophet.
The U.S. Embassy understood this, and they issued a statement condemning hateful
rhetoric."

The embassy in Cairo published a statement online
saying, "The Embassy of the United States in Cairo condemns the
continuing efforts by misguided individuals to hurt the religious feelings of
Muslims -- as we condemn efforts to offend believers of all religions. ... Respect
for religious beliefs is a cornerstone of American democracy. We firmly reject
the actions by those who abuse the universal right of free speech to hurt the
religious beliefs of others."

The mood during the protests at the embassy was a
reminder of the volatility of politics in post-Mubarak Egypt, where, more than
ever, rumor can stir people into a frenzy. Suspicion of involvement by Coptic
Christians shows how tension between Muslims and Christians still burns. Christians
make up about 10% of Egypt's population.

"Many of the people here haven't even seen
the movie," said Mostafa Nageh, a youth who attended the protest.
"Most people came out to protest just because they heard that a video
insulting the prophet was made in the U.S."

In Washington, State Department spokeswoman
Victoria Nuland said Tuesday that the breach of the embassy wall "came up
pretty quickly" and involved a "relatively modest group of people,
but caught probably us and the Egyptian security outside by some
surprise."